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Theoretical Foundations of the Economics of Slavery : Enslaved People as Capital Investments in the Atlantic World

Martins, Igor LU orcid and Green, Erik LU (2025) In Journal of Global History p.1-19
Abstract
Despite the prevalence of slavery in world history, our understanding of its persistence remains limited. Most previous studies focus primarily on slavery as a labour contract, indistinguishable from other coercive arrangements such as serfdom. More recent literature on slavery in the United States shows that enslaved people also played an important role as financial instruments. In this article, we extend the investigation by comparing slavery in the United States with that in Brazil and the Cape Colony. We show that despite significant geographic, demographic, and economic differences, slavery was not merely a labour arrangement in the three cases but a unique institution that gave enslavers complete rights over mobile property. Slavery... (More)
Despite the prevalence of slavery in world history, our understanding of its persistence remains limited. Most previous studies focus primarily on slavery as a labour contract, indistinguishable from other coercive arrangements such as serfdom. More recent literature on slavery in the United States shows that enslaved people also played an important role as financial instruments. In this article, we extend the investigation by comparing slavery in the United States with that in Brazil and the Cape Colony. We show that despite significant geographic, demographic, and economic differences, slavery was not merely a labour arrangement in the three cases but a unique institution that gave enslavers complete rights over mobile property. Slavery provided access to both labour and capital, with the capital investment dimension being key to understanding its persistence. We argue that understanding slavery’s persistence requires recognising enslaved people as both sources of labour and capital investment. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Slavery, Atlantic world, New History of Capitalism, labour coercion, capital investment, collateralisation
in
Journal of Global History
pages
1 - 19
publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISSN
1740-0228
DOI
10.1017/S1740022825100296
project
The establishment, growth and legacy of a settler colony: Quantitative panel studies of the political economy of Cape Colony
The Cape of the Good Hope Panel: Long-term studies of growth, inequality and labour coercion in the global south
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
be34042f-e245-4a60-af5e-baf33cb7f30f
alternative location
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-global-history/article/theoretical-foundations-of-the-economics-of-slavery-enslaved-people-as-capital-investments-in-the-atlantic-world/9CC6E3AE72944B441DFC1E2EBB6F407F
date added to LUP
2025-06-23 17:54:58
date last changed
2026-01-07 11:48:01
@article{be34042f-e245-4a60-af5e-baf33cb7f30f,
  abstract     = {{Despite the prevalence of slavery in world history, our understanding of its persistence remains limited. Most previous studies focus primarily on slavery as a labour contract, indistinguishable from other coercive arrangements such as serfdom. More recent literature on slavery in the United States shows that enslaved people also played an important role as financial instruments. In this article, we extend the investigation by comparing slavery in the United States with that in Brazil and the Cape Colony. We show that despite significant geographic, demographic, and economic differences, slavery was not merely a labour arrangement in the three cases but a unique institution that gave enslavers complete rights over mobile property. Slavery provided access to both labour and capital, with the capital investment dimension being key to understanding its persistence. We argue that understanding slavery’s persistence requires recognising enslaved people as both sources of labour and capital investment.}},
  author       = {{Martins, Igor and Green, Erik}},
  issn         = {{1740-0228}},
  keywords     = {{Slavery; Atlantic world; New History of Capitalism; labour coercion; capital investment; collateralisation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  pages        = {{1--19}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Global History}},
  title        = {{Theoretical Foundations of the Economics of Slavery : Enslaved People as Capital Investments in the Atlantic World}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1740022825100296}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S1740022825100296}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}